Cat Rescue Dunedin trustee Debby Foster said the "sweet, but a bit hissy" 5-week-old kitten was now safe in the organisation’s care, and the search was on for its mother and siblings.
"A trail camera in the area showed a mother cat moving her babies, as they do, and she must have decided the crockpot looked like a safe place — some mums are very resourceful," Mrs Foster said.
The first wave of kitten season had peaked and the second wave was beginning, putting Cat Rescue Dunedin’s limited intake space and fostering capability under huge pressure, she said.
"Kitten season is absolutely full-on — we are getting two or three requests for help every day," Mrs Foster said.
"We are doing our best to pick up the kittens, and they are filling every available space in our intake centre, which unfortunately leaves us no room to help out with adult cats at the moment."
Since January 1, Cat Rescue Dunedin has taken in 38 kittens, and currently has 194 cats and kittens in its care, distributed between its Caversham intake centre and about 30 volunteer fosterers.
"We have to focus on kittens at the moment, because those first eight to 10 weeks are crucial — if we can get them socialised with people and other animals in those early weeks, they are much easier to re-home," Mrs Foster said.
Despite its ongoing efforts to deal with cat colonies around greater Dunedin, the number of cats and kittens cared for by Cat Rescue Dunedin has almost doubled in four years.
In 2019, the rescue took in 462 cats and kittens, rising to 612 in 2020, 722 in 2021 and 845 in 2022. The number of kittens has nearly tripled — from 265 in 2019, to 602 in 2022.
Mrs Foster said the increasing numbers were in part due to the Covid pandemic, with fewer opportunities to desex cats leading to a flow-on effect of higher kitten numbers.
Warmer weather in traditionally cooler months was also extending kitten season, meaning females could have two or three litters, usually of five or six kittens each, in a year.
"In 2022, kitten season didn’t really stop — we were taking in kittens right through the year," Mrs Foster said.
The situation was being compounded by a shortage of vets and the high cost of pet food, leading to people struggling to care for their animals properly or even dumping them.
Cat Rescue Dunedin is reliant on donations, grants, volunteers and fosterers to run its intake centre and charity shop, and care for the hundreds of cats and kittens in need.
"Because people are struggling, we are not getting the donations we were getting a year ago either, so it’s a perfect storm," Mrs Foster said.
Anyone who can help out with donations of money and food, would like to volunteer or become a fosterer is welcome to visit the website catrescuedunedin.org.nz and click on the "How to Help" button for details.
Donations of good quality household goods, clothing and bric-a-brac are also welcome for the Cat Rescue Dunedin charity shop in North East Valley.
Regular adoption days are held, with the support of Animal Attraction, and information on cats and kittens up for adoption is also on the website, or through links on the Cat Rescue Dunedin Facebook page.
The rescue is also trying to locate traps that have been loaned to members of the public — if you have one at home, please get in touch.
